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About 175 million pre-primary children are not registered in the world, UNICEF said in a new report released on Tuesday.
The report states that countries with a high number of out-of-school children do not enjoy a critical investment opportunity and are likely to experience profound inequalities from the beginning.
In low-income countries, only 1 in 5 young children are enrolled in pre-primary education.
Ghana is a leader in pre-primary education in sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2008, Ghana included two years of pre-primary education (Kindergarten) as part of its constitutional commitment to Free and Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE).
Yet, more than 400,000 children – about one in four preschool children – are still not enrolled in kindergarten.
According to Ghana's Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (JICS) in 2017/18, the majority of these children belong to the poorest families and live mostly in the northern regions of Ghana.
"Preschool education is the basis of our children's education. Each stage of education that follows depends on its success, "said Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF Representative in Ghana.
"All children should have this opportunity to learn, grow and develop their full potential," the survey said.
A world ready to learn: prioritizing quality education for young children – UNICEF's first-ever global report on pre-primary education – reveals that children enrolled for at least a year in school Pre-primary education is more likely to develop the essential skills they need to succeed in school, less likely to repeat or drop out of school, and therefore more able to contribute to the creation of societies and peaceful economies. and prosperous in adulthood.
Pre-primary children are more than twice as likely to acquire early reading, writing and numeracy skills as children who do not attend early learning. In countries where more children attend pre-primary programs, many more children finish primary school and acquire the minimum skills in reading and math at the end of their primary education.
At the global level, the report notes that household wealth, maternal education and geographic location are among the main determinants of pre-primary attendance.
However, poverty is the main determining factor.
Some key findings:
Role of Poverty: In 64 countries, the poorest children are seven times less likely than children from richer families to attend early childhood education programs. For some countries, the gap between rich and poor is even more apparent. Children from Ghana's richest households are nine times more likely to attend pre-primary education than those from the poorest.
Conflict Impact: More than two-thirds of preschool children living in 33 countries affected by conflict or disaster are not enrolled in early childhood education programs. Yet it is these children for whom pre-primary education has the greatest benefits. Pre-primary education helps young children affected by crises overcome the trauma they have suffered by providing them with a structure, a safe place to learn and play, and a way to express their emotions.
The School Achievement Cycle: Among the countries for which data are available, children born to mothers who have completed high school are almost five times more likely to attend an early childhood education program than children whose education is completed. mothers have completed their primary education or have not received formal education.
In 2017, an average of 6.6% of national budgets devoted to education are devoted to pre-primary education, with almost 40% of countries with data affecting less than 2% of their budgets spent on education. 39, education in this sub-sector. In Ghana, less than 6% is allocated to pre-primary education. This places Ghana on par with the world average and exceeds the regional average of 2.5% among the countries of West and Central Africa.
This limited global investment in pre-primary education has a negative impact on the quality of services, including a significant shortage of trained pre-primary teachers. Together, middle and lower income countries account for more than 60% of children in the preschool age world, but barely 32% of all pre-primary teachers. In fact, only 422,000 pre-primary teachers are currently teaching in low-income countries. With expanding populations, baduming an ideal student-teacher ratio of 20 to 1, the world will need 9.3 million new pre-primary teachers to achieve the universal goal of pre-primary education. here 2030.
In Ghana, the pupil / teacher ratio in pre-primary is 39: 1 and 75% of teachers are trained.
These figures have gradually improved thanks to targeted investments.
The global report highlights the success of the Teacherless Education in Basic Education Diploma (UTDBE), an innovative program launched by the Ministry of Education in 2012.
Nearly 8,000 young teachers from disadvantaged districts were trained over a four-year period, through distance education, to fill the resource gap for teachers trained in elementary schools.
UNICEF congratulated the Government of Ghana for its leadership and progress in pre-primary education.
On the basis of these successes, it is important to give priority to quality pre-primary education and to provide it with adequate resources. At the global level, governments are encouraged to devote at least 10% of their national budgets to education in order to intensify early childhood education in order to reach all children and young people. to make sure they are "ready to learn".
For investments to be effective, efficient and equitable, we must also intensify our efforts to improve coverage, strengthen planning, monitoring and supervision of pre-primary services, as well as monitor and evaluate children's school readiness.
"When governments invest in preschool education, they ensure that their workforce is competitive in the economy of tomorrow," said Anne-Claire Dufay. "This is especially beneficial for the most vulnerable children and contributes to the 2030 Agenda to leave no children behind. Let's give all kids the best start in life. "
Credit: UNICEF
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